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Heatwaves spark derailments and service problems on Britain’s rail network

Network Rail says the summer has delivered “exceptional challenges,” with heat-related strain including rails that can reach 51C and most of the network limited to operating up to 46C track temperatures.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Europe

Britain’s rail network is facing a run of heat-related problems during one of the hottest and driest summers on record, with derailments reported near Lewes in East Sussex and at Wickford railway station in Essex, and Network Rail citing “exceptional challenges” for the system.

According to the Guardian Business, the derailment near Lewes earlier this month injured 30 people, while the following day a Greater Anglia train derailment involved rear carriages that came off track “in an upright position,” with no reported injuries.

The report explains the mechanics behind heat strain: steel rails expand in high temperatures, and because tracks use long, continuously welded sections, the design leaves little room for movement, increasing compressive stresses that can lead to buckling.

Network Rail says most of the network can operate when track temperatures reach up to 46C, roughly equivalent to an air temperature around 30C, and rails have been recorded as hot as 51C, while drought-driven drying of soil beneath sleepers and ballast can undermine the track’s foundation, with a 2022 heatwave previously tied to almost 7,700 cancelled trains and an estimated £30m in costs.

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